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Lack of oxygen had y mind They were an ancient fore, but she did

"And Heaven wept to see the sins of Her children" The words were alible Daniel and Phil had not even heard theht--but then, they were familiar

Where had she heard them before?

The memory came to her faster than she would have liked: a differentLuce in a different body into an older cloak than this one It had happened a very long tih all this before, bound up and then released

In that lifeti she wasn’t supposed to see A book, tied up with a complicated knot

A Record of the Fallen

What was she doing with it? What did she want to see?

The saels who had yet to choose But she hadn’t been per before, Luce had held the book in her hands, and without knowing how, she had nearly untied its knot Then caht her and bound her in the cloak She had watched his blue wings shudder with intensity as the angel tied and retied the book Making sure her ied it, he had said She heard hie words--just before he shed a tear over the book

The gold thread had unraveled like el now and watched a silvery tear slide from his eye down the maze of his cheek He looked trulysort of way, like he pitied the fate of her soul The tear landed on the cloak, and the knots asped for air Daniel yanked the cloak the rest of the way off her She swung her arms around hi Daniel when Barach leaned in close to her ear "You’ll never succeed"

"Silence, fiend," Daniel commanded

But Luce wanted to knohat Barach meant "Why not?"

"You are not the one!" Barach said

"Silence!" Daniel shouted

"Never, never, never Not in ahis sandpaper cheek against Luce’s--right before Phil loosed the arrow into his heart

EIGHT

HOW HEAVEN WEPT

Soasped

Daniel swooped down and snatched the golden relic fro his head

Soe, regenerating clothes had disappeared

"I aori," Phil said "But I could not tolerate Barach’s lies any longer"

"It was beginning to grate on me, too," Daniel said

"Just be careful with the others"

"Take this," Phil said, sliding the black satchel off his shoulder and handing it to Daniel "Conceal it frory for it" When Daniel opened the satchel, Luce saw his book, The Book of the Watchers, tucked inside

Phil zipped it up and left the bag with Daniel "I will now return to stand guard The wounded Scale could rouse at any ainst the Scale," Daniel said, sounding impressed "But--"

"We know," Phil said "There will be more Did you encounter ion," Daniel said

"If you would let us use the starshots freely, we could secure your escape--"

"No I don’t want to disturb balance to that extent

Nounless in absolute self-defense We’ll just have to hurry and get out of here before the Scale rein-forceuard the s and the doors I will be with you in athe carpet of blue wings

As soon as they were alone, Daniel’s hands searched Luce’s body "Are you hurt?"

She looked down at herself, rubbed her neck She was bleeding The skylight’s glass had sliced through her jeans in a few places, but none of the wounds looked fatal Following Daniel’s earlier advice, she told herself, It doesn’t hurt you The stinging eased

"I’m fine," she said quickly "What happened to you?"

"Precisely anted to happen I held off the majority of the Scale while the Outcasts found this way in" He closed his eyes "Only I never et hurt I’m sorry, Luce, I shouldn’t have left you--"

"I’els? How ori!" Phil’s shout rang out across the lofty roo quickly, stepping over blue Scale wings to the arched threshold of the room Then Luce stopped short

A man in a navy blue uniform lay facedown on the tile floor Red blood pooled around his head--red mortal blood

"I--I killed hi a heavy iron hel scared The visor of the helh the doorway and I thought he was Scale I thought I would just knock him out But he was a mortal man"

A mop and bucket on wheels lay tipped over behind the body They had killed a janitor Until then, in soainst the Scale hadn’t seemed real It was brutal and senseless, and yes, two Scale members had been killed--but it had been separate fro the blood seep into the grooves of the tile floor, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away

Daniel rubbed his jaw "You uard the door from intruders The next one who comes in will be Scale" He scanned the rooels?"